Hello from Cincinnati Rec's (Casbah, Underground)

[whiteymuseum]

Hello there nice people,

Warning: this is a LONG email

I thought I would extend a courtesy hello to all of you. It seems like the appropriate gesture to make. Thanks to a friend on this board for introducing me to it the other night.

My name is Brodie. I run a little record label & booking group called 'Cincinnati Records'. For the past few years I've been booking primarily indie rock at a club in Hamilton called 'The Underground' ( http://www.undergroundrocks.ca )

Very recently I was also offered the position of booking another fine room in town (The Casbah). My wife to be (Michelle) has also been offered a position there to manage the operations of the club.

I thought I would make you aware of this because part of the entertainment plan for the venue ties into what made the scene around The Casbah (and LaLuna before it) a great place to enjoy live music...namely the jam music scene and the related musics.

Here is a rather long but informative email that I sent to some friends the other day explaining the plan...

Again thanks for your time.

"I like lists, so that's maybe how I'll communicate the rest of the way through:

1) WEBSITE - The Casbah has bought a URL, and information will be uploaded shortly to http://www.casbah.ca Show listings, contact info and some other stuff will be available with weekly updates.

2) PROMOTION - Kevyn has masterfully put together another outstanding template poster. Cincinnati Records has also hired a 6-person poster team to clutter our streets with music propaganda. Be on the look out for tape demons & post-show tear-down ninjas!!!

3) THE VENUE - Michelle & I have been spending every bit of spare time adding & subtracting from the club's look. New curtains, some fixtures, lighting, furniture & such have been brought in. We like the look. The PA has been upgraded slightly, and I think you sound-types will be happy with the results.

4) THE LOUNGE- This is the big one. Michelle and I plan to actually focus more-so on the lounge in the early stages, and the venue will sort of be an added plus to the business.

The lounge will be open 7-days a week. Presently opening at 5:30pm each day.

We have fully stocked & upgraded the bar inside to service the martini & scotch lovers out there. In addition, the lounge will have espressos & cappucinos & other specialty coffees, as well as desserts of the cheekecake & pie varieties.

Michelle & I have also worked out a great deal with LaLuna Restaurant so that customers will be able to order food off the LaLuna menu while visiting the lounge. The best in Lebanese/Canadian/Vegetarian food will be available during kitchen hours.

As far as entertainment goes, the lounge will host a variety of DJ'ed music ranging from 60s jazz to garage to funk to reggae & beyond. Presently two residents will be scheduled in on Thursdays & Saturdays, while Friday will host as a night for a different guest DJ each week. Some of the DJs scheduled to perform in the lounge include RON EAZY(who will be one of the club's residents), DAVE MONTOUR (aka Toxik, who was a fixture at the Hudson in the early days & the other club resident) as well as some DJ personalities from CFMU shows 'Mining The Attic', 'Dusted Off' & hopefully more. DALLAS GOOD (of The Sadies) will also be djing this summer in the lounge. I'm really excited about that. If anyone else has some interest in doing some DJing inthe lounge, as I said we interchange DJs on Fridays, and also during the

week we'd be open-minded to some 'open stage' type use of our turntables as well. Just contact us.

Another possibility in the lounge will be the occasional live music performance that we think works functionally well in the space. Acts in alot of intimate & experimental styles of music you've known me to book in the past will get gigs in the lounge.

Finally, we plan to use the walls of the lounge as a platform for area artists to show their work for 4-8 weeks at a time. Hopefully help them to sell some things as well. Some artists confirmed to show their work on the

lounge walls in the future weeks include: Tara White (of Elevator), Julie MacDonald, Erin Aurich, Jean Smith (of Mecca Normal) and Martin Verrall. (BTW, if you are someone or you know someone interested in this, please feel free to contact us about the sizes of the spaces available).

Another point to make you aware of is that the lounge will ALWAYS operate under a no-cover charge system. It will always be free to enter the lounge.

Michelle & I are really excited about the lounge.

5) THE LIVE MUSIC - the entertainment in the main-room of the Casbah won't really skew far off from what had made it successful in the past (and LaLuna before it). In general, alt-country, jam music, funk/soul, and some pop-rock & DJ'ed events will take place in the club mostly on weekends. DOUG FEAVER has agreed to continue with his famous residency at The Casbah (although it will be moving from Thursdays to Wednesdays beginning March 31st). You can also look forward to a regular showcase with a pair of other younger local groups that I'll announce in the coming weeks.

Some upcoming shows at the Casbah include:

Cuff The Duke - April 2

The Pocket Dwellers - April 3

Carolyn Mark & Kelly Hogan - April 5

Elf Power - April 18

Six Finger Groove - April 22

Fat Cats - April 30

The Good Brothers - May 22

Jomomma - June 26

6) THE UNDERGROUND - You may be wondering what all this news means for the Underground. Well to be honest, nothing really changes at the Underground. I will still be managing & booking it with live music 6 nights a week. What you may see happen when the smoking by-law changes is that the Underground will host the OCCASIONAL all- ages rock show. This is fun news for me particularly, as I'm not a smoker and have always enjoyed all-ages crowds.

7) THE STAFF - Another really exciting thing that Michelle and I have worked out is that with the management of the two clubs, we've decided to overlap and bridge the two staffs. What this means is you'll come to find some of your regular faces at the Underground (Sunnie, Stacey, Gillian, Jackson, Chris, Duke, Jeremy etc) doing some working over at the Casbah...and vice versa you'll see some of the Casbah staff working over at the Underground occasionally (Marnie, Chantelle, Raymond etc).

8) THE RE-LAUNCH SOCIAL - On Thursday April 1st Michelle and I have planned a party to celebrate the beginning for us. At 5:30pm the lounge will open up with our first artist showcased on the lounge walls, RON EAZY will be spinning 60s jazz, freakbeat etc and we'll be ready to serve food, desserts, coffee & martinis. There will be some fun menu specials in place as well. Later that night, the main-room will open up for a live show...

Cincinnati Records Presents:

THURS APRIL 1, 2004:

'Future Organic Acid Funk'

from THE QUARTERTONES

( http://www.thequartertones.com )

The Quartertones feature DJ Serious, Bob James, Grant Green & Roy Ayres. They have played with the likes of LAL, Pocket Dwellers, DJ Spinna, The Roots, Circle Research and King Cobb Steelie. This part of the night will also be NO COVER CHARGE. '

So that's about it for now. Thanks for reading if you're still with us at this point

Bests

Brodie & Michelle

[hammer_rocks]

isn't there already a bar in Hamilton that provides killer music and great food without all the bullshit of hess village?

i wonder why you wouldn't go for a different market in the city. i guess creativity isn't your thing.

[Tungsten Gruvsten]

Sounds cool - I won't be a dick about it like 'hammilton rocks' but just a couple clarifications maybe....

Although "Six Finger Groove" sounds pornariffic, I think the band is Six FOOT Groove.

Also, i'm interested in this Quartertones....besides DJ Serious I'm pretty sure Grant Green has been dead since 79 and Roy Ayers usually hits bigger venues...Bob James is no slouch either....are they sampled? 3 other players that sound like them??

[poutine]

way to go brodie. the new casbah sounds wicked. can't wait for cuff the duke on april 2nd. What's the matter with hamilton rock ? I think getting one of the sadies to dj a night is pretty creative. i know it's near hess but now there is finally a place to go near hess. i think your comments were pretty rude towards someone that is trying to do alot for hamilton. Pepperjacks will still be there. don't worry!

sebadoh w/ the escapegoats is going to rock!

[ggrtrhhrtgg]

good luck!!! ::

[shainhouse]

Good Stuff Brodie. Looking forward to the variety of music at not only PJC, but also the Casbah. The more the merrier if you ask me.

[DevO]

Hey Mr. Brodie, welcome to jambands.ca... Good luck with The Casbah! The plans sound great -- I like the idea of free cover at the lounge and those are some exciting picks for dj's. GOod idea displaying local art as well. I hope it all goes well!

[paisley]

Right Ons Brodie,

welcome on the board, the new plans sound great... looking forward to seeing some new life breathed into the Casbah and seeing it take a positive change in direction

Hammer Rocks speaks for him/herself (and oddly bitterly, some people aren't very happy I guess)

good luck and keep the great music comin.

cheers man (jhamie)